


i forgive you, forget you—the end

by fantastiken



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Magic, Potions, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8921548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantastiken/pseuds/fantastiken
Summary: “I think you meant who,” Jaehwan clarified. “It’s not something I want to forget, but someone.”Oh. That was odd.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be sweet haken for @jeadore but. this is definitely not sweet haken. oops.

The shop was very unique— that much was obvious just at first glance. 

The walls were covered in cabinet after cabinet of pristine white wood and glass doors. What the cabinets didn’t hide was painted in deep burgundy except for the high ceiling, which was white, crossed from side to side by a black design of intricate lines that might have made up for a magnificent tattoo. The cabinets were full of shelves, and those were littered with a perfectly organized army of jars and vials of every shape, size, color and design. The place smelled of... nothing, curiously, given that there was an almost consumed incense stick burning away on a thin board on the front desk. 

The shop was indeed unique, but maybe that was normal when one learned what could be purchased there. 

The crisp, almost solemn silence had the place plunged in a stillness only seen in museums and cemeteries. Behind the front desk was Hakyeon, ready to greet the new customer that had walked in a few minutes before and was padding next to the cabinets slowly, quiet as a mouse. 

Hakyeon had been working there ever since his mother passed on the business to him. In all those years, he’d had a good amount of clients of all kinds, and he prided himself on knowing he’d helped all of them to the best of his ability. He’d met customers with easy solutions to their problems— a couple of drops of Confidence Perfume, one quick whiff of Empathy Serum and it was all set—, and also clients with more troublesome quandaries— the Success Ointment didn’t always work, sadly. He’d met so many customers, but never one quite like Jaehwan. 

Of course, Hakyeon didn’t know this when he saw Jaehwan for the first time. He walked in the shop with unsure steps, clutching a beanie with tight fists. His fringe was damp, half-sticking to his forehead probably due to the light rain falling outside. When Hakyeon greeted him, he jumped— one could even think the boy wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the shop, as strange as that might have been. 

“How can I help you?” he offered with a friendly smile. It was always better to approach his clients with as much tact as possible, he’d learned. 

Jaehwan— Hakyeon would learn his name in a few minutes— walked slowly towards him. He didn't stop until his feet were touching the bottom of the front desk. 

“What did you need today?” Hakyeon tried again, never losing his smile. 

“I was wondering...” Jaehwan started. He seemed to be unable to look at Hakyeon in the eye, and he kept twisting his beanie compulsively. “If you had by any chance Amnesia Elixir.” 

Oh. That was odd. 

Most of the time people visited him because they wanted Kindness, Love, Honesty, Perseverance, Lust, even Good Luck in some cases, however expensive that might be. Negative feelings were not too demanded, and usually stayed intact for months until Hakyeon had to dispose of them and brew new jars. 

On the other hand, a lot of people wanted to forget things. That much was obvious, but at the end of the day not many were brave enough to commit themselves to their wishes and try to carry them on. 

“So,” Hakyeon mentioned lightly as he turned to a cabinet that was closed with a worn-out lock. “What do you want to forget?” 

He was not being nosy— just the minimum, maybe— because he did need to know that piece of information whenever a customer requested to figuratively drink from the poison jar. So was dictated by the laws. 

“Who,” was Jaehwan’s answer in turn. 

The lock opened with a soft click. Hakyeon turned around, mildly confused. “Pardon?” 

Jaehwan looked at him for the first time, and what Hakyeon saw in his eyes was, if not devastating, at least overwhelmingly sad. 

“I think you meant _who_ ,” he clarified. “It’s not something I want to forget, but someone.” 

Oh. _That_ was odd. 

Hakyeon had never encountered a customer who wanted to forget about someone. Maybe certain memories of a bad breakup, of cheating, but he had yet to find someone who’d want to not remember a person anymore altogether. Well, until, Jaehwan at least. 

What exactly could have brought him to make that decision? 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I misunderstood,” he apologized quickly. “Who do you wish to forget?” 

For a few seconds Jaehwan didn’t answer, too focused on the colorful little jars of Everyday Emotions displayed on two tidy rows on top of the counter. When he did, though, Hakyeon felt a cold rush of dread leave him petrified for a second. 

“Myself.” 

Hakyeon could not articulate proper words, too shocked by the revelation. What was he supposed to say to that— how was he supposed to react to someone wanting to forget themselves? 

The implications were too big, too overwhelming to process so quickly, but Hakyeon tried to remain composed and instill as much calmness in Jaehwan as it was possible. The poor boy seemed to be on the verge of tears. 

“You know you’ll need to tell me why, right, Jaehwan?” he said, patience slowly bleeding into his voice. 

Jaehwan nodded. His knuckles had turned white from how hard he was wrenching his beanie. The look in his eyes seemed empty but at the same time so full of something— something dark, muddy, turbulent, something Hakyeon was sure he did not want to know. 

He had to listen anyways as he guided Jaehwan to the cozy living room he kept at the back of the shop for occasions like those, however sporadic they might be. His hands were shaking a little when he handed Jaehwan a steaming mug of tea— if Jaehwan noticed, he didn’t comment on it. The room was, contrary to the front of the shop, enveloped in a warm mix of scents that to Hakyeon called home, and he hoped would help Jaehwan feel more at ease. 

After he sat next to him, they both fell silent for a few long heartbeats. Many thoughts swam in both their minds, more than they would ever say. Hakyeon felt his heart beating hard in his chest, but he also felt calmer than before, more ready to handle the situation no matter what Jaehwan would tell him. So, before letting the poor boy drown in the mug of tea and the dark depths of his troubled mind, Hakyeon linked his hands together and carefully prodded, “Are you ready to talk about it?” 

His words seemed to startle Jaehwan, who jumped in his seat and barely avoided spilling tea all over himself. He shook his head no but talked nonetheless. “No, I’m not,” he admitted, eyes cast down. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be, so...” 

Hakyeon understood. It must have taken a lot for Jaehwan to even decide to go to the shop, let alone take this step. It must have been— must _be_ — so hard. 

“Why do you want to forget yourself, Jaehwan?” he asked after a while. This time, he didn’t startle Jaehwan. 

It took a few minutes until he got an answer, but when Jaehwan finally spoke, his words rang clear in the small room, stronger than anything he’d said up until then. 

“I just want another chance. I want to forgive myself.” 

Another chance for what, Hakyeon wanted to ask, but there was really no need. The underlying sadness in Jaehwan’s voice was enough to let Hakyeon read between the lines and pick apart all the shattered pieces of himself the boy had scattered around. 

Jaehwan wanted another chance, and who was Hakyeon to hinder it. He’d gotten the pertinent permit from the local welfare center, so it only rested on Hakyeon’s hands, his moral, to give the boy what he seemed to need so desperately. It was legal, it could be done. 

The decision was already made and he didn’t really need Jaehwan to say anything else, but when he turned around and looked at Hakyeon as he pleaded softly, “Please,” Hakyeon choked a little on several unnamed emotions. 

“Have you thought about what name you want to have?” he smiled tentatively, and sighed in relief on the inside when he saw that Jaehwan seemed to come back from a deep sleep for the first time in forever. 

“I- Yes,” he answered with shaky voice, as if he were as excited as he was terrified. “Ken. I want my name to be Ken.” 

“That’s an interesting name,” Hakyeon pointed out lightly. “It will suit you so well.” 

He hoped he was right as he also hoped that the forgetting process would go smoothly. That it was a legal procedure did not mean it was safe and did not have consequences in all cases. Amnesia Elixir was a dangerous substance to handle, for memories and consciousness are not concrete entities, so in the wrong hands it could lead to catastrophes. However Hakyeon was an expert, so he was especially careful when handling the little vial of sparkly liquid before he poured it in a thin, golden glass. 

He had made Jaehwan follow him to another room, this time as aseptic and illuminated as the front of the shop, and he’d told him to sit down on a cushioned reclining seat in the middle of the otherwise naked room. Jaehwan was shaking again. 

Telling him that everything would be alright would be a downright lie. So many things could go wrong, and Hakyeon didn’t even want to think about the consequences. The elixir swirled lazily, almost innocently in the glass as he stirred it with a long and thin piece of metal; he waited until the liquid turned black, still sparkly though, before turning around and striding towards Jaehwan with calculated steps. He offered the boy the glass. 

“Are you ready for your new life?” 

Jaehwan nodded, voice lost somewhere between his throat and the glass he was already holding. 

Hakyeon expected questions. _Will it hurt? Are there chances of it not working? What will happen to me if that’s the case? Will I die? Will I still remember who I am now? How long will it take? Does it taste bad?_ He expected questions, lots of them, but he got none. Jaehwan seemed to be more than ready when he looked at Hakyeon with big, hopeful eyes and in a second he was swallowing every last drop of the Amnesia Elixir as if he had nothing to lose. 

A few seconds after, Jaehwan’s eyes were already closed and he was sound asleep. Hakyeon heaved out a deep sigh— the die was cast. 

He knew the elixir was already working when he saw that Jaehwan began to breathe slowly, seemingly more at peace than he’d ever been. Hakyeon could only hope that the process would go well, that Jaehwan got what he deserved because he seemed like a sweet boy. There was nothing Hakyeon could do anymore but wait until Jaehwan’s brain got sorted out again and he would come back to consciousness, but his gut feeling told him he should stay by Jaehwan’s side until he woke up. 

Screw the envelopes and the cold information, Hakyeon was so ready to help Jaehwan— Ken— get back on his feet that he almost jumped out of his skin when the boy sluggishly opened his eyes almost an hour after he’d fallen asleep. The seconds that passed from that moment until he looked at Hakyeon with utter confusion swimming in them felt like an eternity, but made Hakyeon so incredibly happy. 

He could barely contain his smile when he stood up and extended his hand forward. “Welcome to your new life, Ken.”


End file.
